FOUNDATION COURSE ON PSYCHOLOGY – 6 MONTHS

FOUNDATION COURSE ON PSYCHOLOGY – 6 MONTHS 

ONE CAN SELECT THE SPECIALIZED COURSES AFTER THIS 6 MONTH BASIC COURSE

10 Core papers:

Theory:    4 classes+1 student presentation per week

With Practicals: 2 practicum to be done in a practical paper 4 practical classes per week/per group

Each practical group will consist of maximum of 10 students

With Tutorials: 1 tutorial per paper per week per group Each tutorial group will consist of 10 students

WEEK 1-2

C-PSY-01: INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY:  

Objective: To introduce students to the basic concepts of the field of psychology with an emphasis on applications of psychology in everyday life.

1. Introduction: What is psychology? Perspectives on behaviour; Methods of psychology (special emphasis on experimentation); subfields of psychology; Psychology in modern India.

2 (a) Perception: Perceptual processing, Role of attention in perception, Perceptual organization, Perceptual sets, Perceptual constancies, depth perception, distance and movement; Illusions.

(b) Thinking and Language: mental imagery, concepts, decision making; nature of language, language development.

3. Learning and Motivation: Principles and applications of Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning; Learning strategies; Learning in a digital world; Self regulated learning; Perspectives on motivation, types of motivation, motivational conflicts.

4 (a) Memory: Models of memory: Levels of processing, Parallel Distributed Processing model, Information processing, Forgetting, Improving memory.

(b) Emotions: Components, theories

Practicum:

Any 2 practicum pertaining to C-PSY-01 (Introduction to psychology) preferably experiments.

Readings:

Baron, R. & Misra. G. (2013). Psychology. Pearson.

Chadha, N.K. & Seth, S. (2014). The Psychological Realm: An Introduction. Pinnacle Learning, New Delhi.

Ciccarelli, S. K., & Meyer, G. E. (2010). Psychology: South Asian Edition. New Delhi: Pearson Education.

Passer, M.W. & Smith, R.E. (2010). Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill.

WEEK 3-4

C-PSY-02: BIOPSYCHOLOGY             OBJECTIVES:                         

• To explore the biological basis of experience and behaviour.

• To develop an understanding of the influence of behaviour, cognition, and the environment on bodily system.

• To develop an appreciation of the neurobiological basis of psychological function and dysfunction.

Unit 1: Introduction to biopsychology: Nature and scope; Methods and ethics in biopsychology; Divisions of biopsychology.

Unit 2: The Functioning brain: Structure, and functions of neurons; Neural conduction and synaptic transmission.

Unit 3: Organization of nervous systems: CNS & PNS: Structure and functions. Functional abnormalities of neurotransmitters: dopamine and serotonin hypothesis. Neuroplasticity of Brain (neural degeneration, neural regeneration, and neural reorganization), hemispheric specialization.

Unit 4: Endocrine System: Structure, functions and abnormalities of major glands: Thyroid, Adrenal, Gonads, Pituitary, Pancreas and Pineal.

Readings:

1. Breedlove, S. M., Rosenzweig, M. R., & Watson, N. V. (2007) Biological Psychology: An introduction to behavioral, cognitive, and clinical neuroscience, 5th Edition. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, Massachusetts.

2. Carlson, N. R. (2009) Foundations of Physiological Psychology, 6th Edition. Pearson Education, New Delhi.

3. Levinthal, C. F. (1983). Introduction to Physiological Psychology. New Delhi: PHI.
   

4. Pinel, J. P. J. (2011) Biopsychology, 8th Edition. Pearson Education, New Delhi.

5. Rozenweig, M. H. (1989). Physiological Psychology. New York: Random

WEEK 5-6

C-PSY-03: PSYCHOLOGY OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Objective: To develop an understanding of the concept of individual differences with the goal to promote self-reflection and understanding of self and others.

1. Personality: Nature of personality; Biological foundations of personality; Culture, gender and personality; Perspectives on personality: Psychodynamic, Phenomenological- humanistic, Trait and type.

2. Intelligence: Concept of intelligence: Psychometric and cognitive approaches to intelligence; Gardner’s multiple intelligences; Emotional Intelligence, Heredity, environment and intelligence; Group differences in intelligence; Extremes of intelligence.

3. Indian approach: Self and identity in Indian thought.

4. Enhancing individual’s potential: Motivation: Intrinsic motivation and Self- determination theory; Enhancing cognitive potential, Self regulation and self enhancement; Fostering creativity.

Practicum: Two psychological tests (one based on Intelligence and one based on personality).

Readings:

1. Chadha, N.K. & Seth, S. (2014). The Psychological Realm: An Introduction. Pinnacle Learning, New Delhi.

2. Carr, A. (2011): Positive psychology. Routledge.

3. Ciccarelli, S. K., & Meyer, G. E. (2010). Psychology: South Asian Edition. New Delhi: Pearson Education.

4. Cornelissen, R.M.M., Misra, G. & Varma, S. (2011). Foundations of Indian Psychology, Vol 1. Pearson.

5. Gregory, R.J. (2006). Psychological Testing: History, Principles, and Applications (4th Ed.). New Delhi: Pearson Education.

6. Mentis, M., Dunn-Bernstein, M., Mentis, M., & Skuy, M. (2009). Bridging learning: Unlocking cognitive potential in and out of the classroom. Corwin.

7. Passer, M.W. & Smith, R.E. (2010). Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill.
   

WEEK 7-9

C-PSY-04:    STATISTICAL    METHODS    FOR    PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH-I

Objective: To familiarize students with the psychological research and basics of statistical methods and tools used in descriptive statistics of quantitative research.

UNIT 1:

1. Introduction

Psychological Research & Statistics; Descriptive and Inferential Statistics; Variables and Constants; Measurement Scales.

2. Frequency Distributions, Percentiles, and Percentile Ranks

Organizing Qualitative Data; Constructing a grouped frequency distribution, a relative frequency distribution and a cumulative frequency distribution; Computation of Percentiles and Percentile Ranks.

UNIT 2:

3. Graphic Representation of Data

Basic procedures; The Histogram; The Frequency Polygon; The Bar Diagram; The Pie Chart; The Cumulative Frequency Graph; Factors Affecting the Shape of Graphs.

4. Measures of Central Tendency

The Mode; The Median; The Mean; Properties and Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of the Mode, the Median and the Mean; Central Tendency Measures in Normal and Skewed Distributions; The Effects of Linear Transformation on Central Tendency Measures.

UNIT 3:

5. Measures of Variability and Standard (z) Scores

The Range; The Interquartile and the Semi-Interquartile Range; The Average Deviation; The Variance; The Standard Deviation; Calculation of Standard Deviation from Raw Scores and Grouped Scores; Properties and Comparison of Measures of Variability; The Effect of Linear Transformation on Variability Measures; Standard Scores (z-score); Properties of z-scores.

6. The Normal Distribution

The Nature and Properties of the Normal Probability Distribution; Standard Scores and the Normal Curve; The Standard Normal Curve: Finding areas when the score is known; The Standard Normal Curve: Finding scores when the area is known; The Normal Curve as a Model for Real Variables; The Normal Curve as a Model for Sampling Distributions; Divergence from Normality (Skewness and Kurtosis)

UNIT 4:

1. Correlation

The Meaning of Correlation; Historical Perspective; The Scatterplot of Bivariate Distributions; Correlation: A Matter of Direction; Correlation: A Matter of Degree; The Coefficient of Correlation; Calculating Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient from Deviation Scores; Calculating Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient from Raw Scores; Spearman’s Rank-Order Correlation Coefficient; Correlation and Causation; The Effects of Score Transformations; Cautions Concerning Correlation Coefficients.

2. Random Sampling and Sampling Distributions

Random Sampling; Using a Table of Random Numbers; The Random Sampling Distribution of the Mean: An Introduction; Characteristics of the Random Sampling Distribution of the Mean; Using the Sampling Distribution of Sample Means to Determine the Probability for Different Ranges of Values of Sample Mean; Random Sampling With and Without Replacement.

Reading List:

Aron, A., Aron, E.N., & Coups, E.J. (2007).Statistics for Psychology. (4thEd.) India: Pearson Education, Prentice Hall.

Chadha, N.K. (1991) Statistics for Behavioral and Social Sciences. Reliance Pub. House: New Delhi.

Coolican, H. (2006). Introduction to Research Methodology in Psychology. London: Hodder Arnold.

Howell, D. (2009) Statistical methods for Psychology.

King, B.M. & Minium, E.W, (2007). Statistical Reasoning in the behavioral Sciences USA: John Wiley & Sons.

Mangal, S.K. (2012). Statistics in Psychology & Education. 2nd Edition. New Delhi: PHI learning Pvt. Ltd.

WEEK 10-12

C-PSY-05: PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Objective: To educate students with the process and the methods of quantitative and qualitative psychological research traditions.

UNIT 1

Basics of Research in Psychology

What is Psychological Research? The Goals of Psychological Research; Principles of Good Research; Ethics in Psychological Research.

Research Traditions

Quantitative and Qualitative Orientations towards Research and their Steps; Comparing Qualitative and Quantitative Research Traditions; Formulating a Problem and Developing a Testable Research Question / Research Hypothesis.

UNIT 2

Experimental Method

Introduction to Experimental and Quasi-experimental Methods.

Methods of Data Collection

Sampling; Probability Sampling Methods and Non Probability Sampling Methods.

UNIT 3

Non Experimental Methods (I)

Case Study; Observation; Surveys, Focus Group Discussion, Interviews.

UNIT 4

Non Experimental Methods (II)

Psychological Testing: Standardization; Reliability, Validity and Norms of a Psychological Test; applications

Practicum: The students are required to conduct two practicals, one from each of the following groups.

1. Experiment / Psychological testing

One experiment based on group data analysis

One psychological test based on group data analysis

2. Qualitative Research Methods

Interview Observation

Projective / Semi Projective Tests Case Study

Reading List:

Chadha, N.K. (2009) Applied Psychometry. Sage Pub: New Delhi.

Dyer, C. (2001) Research in Psychology: A Practical Guide to Research Methodology and Statistics (2nd Ed.) Oxford: Blackwell Publishers

Gregory, R.J. (2006). Psychological Testing: History, Principles, and Applications (4th Ed.). New Delhi: Pearson Education.

Murphy, K.R. & Davidshofer, C. O. (2004). Psychological Testing: Principles & Applications (6th Ed.) New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Neuman, W.L. (2006). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches (6th Ed.) Boston: Pearson Education.

Willig, C. (2001). Introducing qualitative research in psychology: Adventures in theory and method. Philadelphia : Open University Press.

WEEK 13-16

C-PSY-06: DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL THOUGHT OBJECTIVES:

• This course provides a basic introduction to the development of the discipline both from the Indian as well as western perspective.

• Review the development of psychological thought and introduce the issues and debates in contemporary psychology.

Unit 1 – Understanding Psyche: Debates and Issues

1. Free will and determinism

2. Empiricism and rationality

3. Issues of Consciousness and Mind Body Relationship

(*Each of these debates and issues to be dealt with from the point of view of an East-West Comparison; Eastern perspective will include Yoga & Vedantic view)

Unit 2 – (a) Early Schools of Psychology: Associationism, Structualism and Functionalism (Brief Introduction)

(b) Positivist Orientation: From behaviorism to cognition: Key contributions of Watson, Tolman, Hull, and Skinner; Cognitive revolution, Information Processing Model.

Unit 3 - Psychoanalytic and Humanistic-Existential Orientation

Freudian Psychoanalysis, The turn towards ‘social’ – Adler, Jung, Fromm, Ego psychology – Erik Erikson, Object relations; Cultural psychoanalysis (Sudhir Kakar), contributions of Phenomenologically oriented humanistic and existential thinkers.

Unit 4 - Contemporary Developments

Feminism and social constructionism.

READINGS:

Benjamin Jr. (2009). A History of Psychology: Original Sources & Contemporary Research  3rd Edn. Blackwell Publishing.

Feist & Feist. Theories of Personality Mc Graw Hill Higher Education.

King, D.B., Viney, W. & Woody, W.D. (2008). A history of psychology: Ideas and context. (4th Ed.). Pearson education.

Kurt Pawlik,Gery D'ydewalle (2006). Psychological Concepts: An International Historical Perspective. Taylor Francis Group.

Leahey, T.H. (2005). A History of Psychology: Main currents in psychological thought (6th Ed.). Singapore: Pearson Education.

Mc Adams (2000). The Person: An Integrated Introduction to Personality Psychology John Wiley

Paranjpe, A. C. (1984). Theoretical psychology: The meeting of East and West. New York: Plenum Press.

St. Clair, Michael. (1999). Object Relations and Self-Psychology: An Introduction. Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Schultz & Schultz (1999). A History of Modern Psychology. Harcourt College Publishers/ Latest edition available.

Wolman, B.B. (1979). Contemporary theories & systems in psychology. London: Freeman Book Co.

WEEK 17-18

C-PSY-07: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Objective:

• Develop an understanding of the nuances of the social world as well as   different perspectives on relations between individual and society

• Introduce students to the realm of social influence and behavior, as to how individuals think, feel and behave in social situations.

Unit I: Psychology of the Social: The meaning of ‘social’; Key assumptions and approaches to social psychology; Overview of the history of social psychology (including India); Relationship with sociology and anthropology; Areas of application: Health, Law, Workplace. Social psychology and sustainable future.

Unit II: Understanding and evaluating the social world: Self and its processes: Self concept, Self-esteem, and self-presentation; Social identity and its functions. Social Cognition, Social perception, Attitudes, Attitude-behaviour link; Strategies for attitude change.

Unit III: Social interaction and Influence: Interpersonal attraction, Pro-Social Behaviour, Aggression, Social influence.

Unit IV: Group Dynamics and inter-group relations: Nature of groups, Consequences of belonging - performance, decision making, cooperation and conflict. Nature of intergroup relations-prejudice, inter-group conflict, Intervention techniques.

Readings:

Baron, R.A., Byrne, D. & Bhardwaj. G (2010).Social Psychology (12th Ed).New Delhi: Pearson.

Chadha, N.K. (2012). Social Psychology. MacMillan: New Delhi

Deaux.K & Wrightsman, L. (2001).Social Psychology. California: Cole Publishing

Kassin,S., Fein, S., & Markus,H.R. (2008). Social psychology. New York: Houghton Miffin.

Misra, G. (2009). Psychology in India, Volume 4: Theoretical and Methodological Developments (ICSSR survey of advances in research). New Delhi: Pearson.

Myers, D.G. (2008). Social psychology New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill.

Taylor,S.E., Peplau,L.A. & Sears,D.O. (2006). Social Psychology (12th Ed). New Delhi: PearsoN.

WEEK 19-21

C-PSY-08:    STATISTICAL    METHODS    FOR    PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH-II

Objective: To educate students with the techniques of inferential statistics and hypothesis testing.

UNIT 1

Introduction to Inferential Statistics and Hypothesis Testing about Single Means The meaning of Statistical Inference and Hypothesis Testing; Hypothesis Testing about Single Means (z and t); Assumptions in Testing a Hypothesis about a Single Mean; The Null and the Alternative Hypotheses; Choice of HA: One-Tailed and Two-Tailed Tests; Steps for Hypothesis Testing; Hypothesis Testing about a Single Mean – Calculation; The Statistical Decision regarding Retention and Rejection of Null Hypothesis; Estimating the Standard Error of the Mean when σ Is Unknown; The t Distribution; Characteristics of Student’s Distribution of t; Computing t Using Definitional Formula Only; Levels of Significance versus p-Values.

Interpreting the Results of Hypothesis Testing

A Statistically Significant Difference versus a Practically Important Difference; Errors in Hypothesis Testing; Power of a Test.

UNIT 2

Hypothesis Testing About the Difference Between Two Independent Means

The Null and Alternative Hypotheses; The Random Sampling Distribution of the Difference between Two Sample Means; Properties of the Sampling Distribution of the Difference between Means; Determining a Formula for t; Testing the Hypothesis of No Difference between Two Independent Means; Use of a One-Tailed Test; Assumptions Associated with Inference about the Difference between Two Independent Means

Hypothesis Testing About the Difference Between Two Dependent (Correlated) Means

The Null and Alternative Hypotheses; Determining a Formula for t; Degrees of Freedom for Tests of No Difference between Dependent Means; Testing a Hypothesis about Two Dependent Means using the formula involving standard errors and correlation only; Assumptions When Testing a Hypothesis about the Difference between Two Dependent Means.

UNIT 3

Hypothesis Testing for Differences among Three or More Groups: One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

The Null and Alternative Hypotheses; The Basis of One-Way Analysis of Variance: Assumptions Associated with ANOVA; Variation within and between Groups; Partition of the Sums of Squares; Degrees of Freedom; Variance Estimates and the F Ratio; The ANOVA Summary Table; Raw-Score Formulas for Analysis of Variance only; Comparison of t and F.

Hypothesis Testing for Categorical Variables and Inference about Frequencies

The Chi-Square as a Measure of Discrepancy between Expected and Observed Frequencies; Logic of the Chi-Square Test; Assumptions of Chi-Square; Calculation of the Chi-Square Goodness-of-Fit-Test- One Way Classification; Chi Square for Two Classification Variables-Contingency Table Analysis; Interpretation of the Outcome of a Chi-Square Test.

UNIT 4

Nonparametric Approaches to Data

Introduction to Distribution-free Nonparametric Tests; Comparison with Parametric Tests; Uses and Applications of Nonparametric Tests.

Introduction to SPSS

Getting Started with SPSS; Uses of SPSS in Statistics and Research.

Reading List:

Aron, A., Aron, E.N., & Coups, E.J. (2007). Statistics for Psychology (4th Ed). India: Prentice Hall .

N.K. Chadha (1991) Statistics for Behavioral and Social Sciences. Reliance Pub. House: New Delhi

Coakes, S. J.,Steed, L., & Ong,C. (2009). SPSS: Analysis Without Anguish Using Version 16.0 for Windows. Milton,QLD: Wiley Students Edition.

Field, A. (2009). Discovering Statistics using SPSS (3rd Ed). New Delhi :Sage.

King, B.M. & Minium, E.W. (2007). Statistical Reasoning in the Behavioral Sciences

(5th Ed).USA: John Willey.

Siegal, S. (1956). Nonparametric Statistics. NY: McGraw Hill

WEEK 22-23

C-PSY-09: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Objectives:

1. To equip the learner with an understanding of the concept and process of human development across the life span

2. To impart an understanding of the various domains of human development

3. To inculcate sensitivity to socio-cultural context of human development

UNIT 1: Introduction

1. Concept of Human Development

2. Theories, themes and research designs

UNIT 2: Periods of Life Span Development

1. Prenatal development

2. Birth and Infancy

3. Childhood

4. Adolescence

5. Adulthood

UNIT 3: Domains of Human Development

1. Cognitive development: perspectives of Piaget and Vygotsky

2. Language development

3. Physical development

4. Emotional development

5. Moral development

6. Personality development

UNIT 4: Socio-Cultural Contexts for Human Development

1. Family

2. Peers, Media & Schooling

3. Human Development in the Indian context

Reading List:

Berk, L. E. (2010). Child Development (9th Ed.). New Delhi: Prentice Hall.

Mitchell, P. and Ziegler, F. (2007). Fundamentals of development: The Psychology of Childhood. New York: Psychology Press.

Papalia, D. E., Olds, S.W. & Feldman, R.D. (2006). Human development (9th Ed.). New Delhi: McGraw Hill.

Santrock, J. W. (2011). Child Development (13th Ed.). New Delhi: McGraw Hill. Santrock, J.W. (2012).Life Span Development (13th ed) New Delhi: McGraw Hill.

Saraswathi, T.S. (2003). Cross-cultural perspectives in Human Development: Theory, Research and Applications. New Delhi: Sage Publications.

Srivastava, A.K. (1997). Child Development: An Indian Perspective. New Delhi.

WEEK 24

C-PSY-10: APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Objective: To help student understand social problems and gain knowledge about intervention strategies.

1. Introduction: Nature of applied Social Psychology, Social influences on behaviour, Levels of analysis, Methodological approaches – Participatory Action and Learning research techniques.

2. Applying Social Psychology-I: Environment, population, diversity

3. Applying Social Psychology-II: work, health, legal system

4. Intervention and Evaluation: Impact analysis; Process of intervention; need for evaluation for effective programme. Case studies in Indian context.

Praticum: The students will conduct two practicum based on topics in C-PSY-10.

Readings

1. Kloos, B., Hill, j., Thomas, E., Wandersman, Elias, M. J., & Dalton, J.H. (2012). Community psychology: Linking individuals and communities. Wadsworth, Cengage.

2. Mikkelson, B. (1995). Methods for development work and research: A guide for practioners. New Delhi: Sage.

3. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, A., Coults, L .M. (Eds.). (2012). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. New Delhi: Sage publications.

4. Smith, P.B., Bond, M.H., & Kagitcibasi, C. (2006). Understanding social psychology across cultures. New Delhi: Sage Publication.